External vertebral venous plexuses

External vertebral venous plexuses
	Transverse section of a thoracic vertebra, showing the vertebral venous plexuses.
	Median sagittal section of two thoracic vertebrae, showing the vertebral venous plexuses.
Details
Identifiers
Latin	plexus venosi vertebrales externi
TA	A12.3.07.019; A12.3.07.020
FMA	12851
	Anatomical terminology

The external vertebral venous plexuses (extraspinal veins) best marked in the cervical region, consist of anterior and posterior plexuses which anastomose freely with each other.

The anterior external plexuses lie in front of the bodies of the vertebræ, communicate with the basivertebral and intervertebral veins, and receive tributaries from the vertebral bodies.
The posterior external plexuses are placed partly on the posterior surfaces of the vertebral arches and their processes, and partly between the deep dorsal muscles.

They are best developed in the cervical region, and there anastomose with the vertebral, occipital, and deep cervical veins.

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 668 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

External links

Atlas image: abdo_wall77 at the University of Michigan Health System - "Venous Drainage of the Vertebral Column"

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